imported_Thom
07-26-2005, 08:45 PM
Hey, just thought we could use a thread to discuss our reflections on previous Batman incarnations, now that we've seen Begins.
I watched Returns last night. I probably hadn't seen it for six years prior, and I'd forgotten why I didn't care for it.
Ugh. Now I remember.
The Red Triangle Circus gang? Skullheads with googly-eyes riding motorcycles? Poodles? Combat-trained penguins? How idiotic. No wonder Forever and B&R wound up so bad, that's where Burton had laid the tracks.
Penguin sucked. I've never been wild about The Penguin... He was an ill-conceived baddie that just doesn't belong in modern continuity. But making him so literally a freak-show attraction, and making the public embrace him as readily as they did? That especially made no sense. This naive Gotham with it's lets-be-happy mayor is a world away from the cynical lot we were given in the first movie.
The only saving grace is Selina Kyle/Catwoman. True, the setup's wrong and both personas are a bit silly in the beginning, but once Pfeiffer got comfortable in the mask, and the character began to have problems keeping her dual lives separate, it was good stuff. Particularly nice is the chemistry between Selena & Bruce versus the Cat & the Bat.
Honestly, it sorta makes me wish we hadn't been shovelled that Halle Berry Cat-litter of a movie last year, as it would be nice to wee the Catwoman/Batman dynamic play out in a more serious universe like Batman Begins. Other than that, though, I'm glad to be rid of Batman Returns.
Anybody else?
Need we even mention Batman & Robin? lol
I watched Returns last night. I probably hadn't seen it for six years prior, and I'd forgotten why I didn't care for it.
Ugh. Now I remember.
The Red Triangle Circus gang? Skullheads with googly-eyes riding motorcycles? Poodles? Combat-trained penguins? How idiotic. No wonder Forever and B&R wound up so bad, that's where Burton had laid the tracks.
Penguin sucked. I've never been wild about The Penguin... He was an ill-conceived baddie that just doesn't belong in modern continuity. But making him so literally a freak-show attraction, and making the public embrace him as readily as they did? That especially made no sense. This naive Gotham with it's lets-be-happy mayor is a world away from the cynical lot we were given in the first movie.
The only saving grace is Selina Kyle/Catwoman. True, the setup's wrong and both personas are a bit silly in the beginning, but once Pfeiffer got comfortable in the mask, and the character began to have problems keeping her dual lives separate, it was good stuff. Particularly nice is the chemistry between Selena & Bruce versus the Cat & the Bat.
Honestly, it sorta makes me wish we hadn't been shovelled that Halle Berry Cat-litter of a movie last year, as it would be nice to wee the Catwoman/Batman dynamic play out in a more serious universe like Batman Begins. Other than that, though, I'm glad to be rid of Batman Returns.
Anybody else?
Need we even mention Batman & Robin? lol